Sunday Best

After yesterday's edition was put to bed, there was one last bit of excitement: Anders requested and received a dental extraction. A loose tooth can be a pain, and, of course, I was honored to pull the little bugger out.

Today we had a good slow morning before 11:00 church. Church was nice and everyone was so solicitous and friendly. Apparently Anna has made a nice circle of helpful friends. An equally laid-back afternoon ended with a delicious dinner: braised pork, potatoes, gravy, roasted sprouts, braised apples, and Louisiana is currently baking some cookies. I cut and Clara peeled all the sprouts; the girl loves to help. Everyone was well-fed and all seemed uber-pleased.

 Last nights extraction

 This morning's human sandwich

 Costco on Saturday, Church on Sunday: just like breathing

 A very motivated helper (I fear it is the

novelty of helping me)

 It was a pretty tasty dinner but...

 ...the table setting was Martha Stewart's worst nightmare

A lovely portrait of me secretly bagged by Tucker

Speaking of Martha Stewart

Tomorrow the wonderfully convoluted schedule begins. I am confident that with the instructions Anna left, we will sail right through. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Let the Games Begin

Yesterday (Friday) was training day: seeing where everyone lives, seeing where to pick people up, and shopping for meals for the week, etc. We scurried back to the school to see Tuckers world-fair presentation. I made supper for the kids, but the boys stayed at a friend's to mess around and have supper. Anna, who was to have attended a schmoozing dinner for Rob's group, ended up staying home because the roads were so awful, so she ate with us, too. We turned in fairly early because Rob and Anna's departure was at 5:00 A.M. today, and we were up at 3:30.

So today I dropped them off at 4:00 and returned home to bed. After breakfast, I took Rob's car to Costco for a fill-up and picked up a few additional supplies for the week. When I got home, I pulled out Rob's enormous macho snow blower, read the instructions, fired it up, and cleaned the driveway. There was enough sun (in spite of the cold temperature) to melt most of the snow when I had finished. While I was in the Costco neighborhood, I picked up tickets for The Life of Pi (a great movie, but I haven't read the book) at a lonely megaplex that is the only remnant of a former mall on a huge vacant lot. The kids slicked up the house, got ready, and off we went. After the movie we went for an early supper at a Mexican restaurant, Miguel's, just north of the megaplex on Virginia Street. I found it on Yelp and would give it a solid B+. I tend to compare everything to La Casita, and nothing quite measures up.

Right now, everybody is hopping in shower in preparation for Church tomorrow. Clara and Tucker are out and shining clean.

 Clara after her morning at school

 Tucker studied Australia

 Off to Hawaii at 4:00 A.M.

 It just wouldn't be Saturday without a trip to Costco

 The driveway snow was vanquished!

 Clara vacuuming up her glitter -- she loves vacuuming

 Life of Pi

Waiting to be seated at Miguel's

A fun day, but that's all for now.

OXO

D.

Off to Reno (With Some Difficulty)

On January 10 at 3:00 P.M., I kissed Kris goodbye and Uncle whisked me up I-15 toward SLC International for a short hop to Reno. I am going to stay with the Hastings kids while their parents are in Hawaii for a conference and a family visit. The roads were fine, but the lighted highway warning signs ominously warned of a winter storm at 4:00 P.M. As we drew closer to the airport and the 4 o'clock hour, the storm began to settle in. By the time I cleared security and took a seat near the window in the waiting area, the snow was beginning to pound. At 4:30 we began to board and by 5:00 the doors were closed and we were ready to go 10 minutes early. Snow was collecting on the plane and we were informed we would stop for deicing before taxi and take off. A half an hour later we were deiced and headed to the runway. We stopped short and waited what seemed forever until they told us the runway was now closed and we would taxi to a different runway on the other side of the airport in the pounding storm. 

When we arrived at the east side of the airport and lined up for departure, they made another visual check of the wings only to discover that the snow on the right side of the plane was too thick and we must be deiced yet again. After the second deicing, we moved very slowly toward the east runway and eventually took off into the blinding snow. It was a nail biter, but 2 1/2 hours late, we headed for Reno. Once off the ground, the flight was great. Gavin will be glad to hear the equipment was an A319 and it performed perfectly.

As often happens under these kinds of conditions, fellow travelers became friendly and chatty in a spirit of camaraderie, otherwise one might go crazy. With all the waiting, the flight crew broke out the drinks and pretzels and we had a party. The man across the aisle was transporting a French pointer puppy in a bag under the seat. With the very long delays, he pulled him out and we all enjoyed getting to know him. The flight crew was so enamored of him that they allowed him to stay out for the duration. (On his previous flight the attendant had freaked out and made him stay in his bag under the seat [shades of poor Harry Potter].) So all in all it was a difficult situation made far better by a great crew and wonderful fellow travelers.

 This is the drill

This is Buddy

I arrived to a warm welcome in Reno. Clara had a letter waiting for me. It read: "Dear Pop Pop I hope you have a good chrip and a vere good welcam" There was a drawing of a plane with me placed in the seat where I actually sat.

 Have a good chrip

 Breakfast this AM

So today is training and tomorrow we start in earnest as Anna and Rob depart. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Harry's Party

While we were hiking Rock Canyon, Auntie Katy took the Hastings binkers skiing at Sundance. Later in the evening after everyone had safely returned to base camp, we all came together to celebrate Harry David's sixth birthday with an Angry-Birds-themed party. The actual date is 11 January, but it is far more fun to celebrate a bit early with all one's cousins. Auntie Em decorated the cake and after a pizza dinner, the party took off.

 Auntie Em plied her wicked skills

 Louisiana napped by the fire

 The binkers ate pizza

 The birthday boy made Italian-style gestures

 Ready to blow

 Harry requested that we play okole charades once again

 Opening presents was as exciting for Beck as for Harry

Wednesday evening, before the troops began heading south to AZ and west to NV on Thursday, we all had supper together at La Casita. Louis saved us the tables in the back room and we gorged on chips and salsa - not to mention the main courses. Good food and great fun.

 Yummy food

All boxed up and ready to go

High Dickie Days have come to an end. The house is empty and we are suffering from empty-house syndrome. The next adventure starts Thursday when I will fly to Reno to be with the Hastings kids while their folks enjoy some time in Hawaii. I will certainly post from there, but this is all for now.

OXO

D.

New Years Hike 2013

New Years morning, Anna, Gavin, and I hiked up Rock Canyon in snow shoes. It was very cold and the ice cycles began to form almost at once on beards and hair. The bum knee was great with no pain at all - all the other muscles, however, were stiff and sore.

 Almost ready

Anna and Gavin at the base of the trail

 A beautiful snowy alley of scrub oak

 Icy beards

 Snow-shoe version of the traditional foot shot

 One of the most beautiful spots on earth

 One of the five bridges

 Near the top, the creek is audible and visible

 The tall pines near the end of the hike

 At the mouth of a cave

Is this what they mean by frosting your hair?

 Red cliffs at the mouth of the canyon

 Squaw peak bathed in mist

Some folks say that the Temple is the place where heaven and earth meet. For me, Rock Canyon is one of the places where heaven touches earth. I feel blessed every time I am there.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

New Years Eve 2012

New Years Eve Katy and Daniel entertained the binkers and the others had dinner at Communal. After dinner everyone gathered back at the house for fun and games. Meagan was the game meister and everyone was well entertained. All but the smallest hung in until midnight when 2013 made its debut. (Thanks to Anna for several photos.)

Enlarged, you can see Colton at the bar

 The meal was delicious and it was fun to be together

 Everyone had beef or duck

 Lava cake and ice cream

 Falling snow made it festive

 Back at the ranch, Auntie Katy did makeovers

 Some more extreme than others

 Potential prizes filled them with awe

 Auntie Meags had it all sorted out and kept us happy and entertained

 Phillip cheered Anders on in a timed task

 Daniel shaking out the ping-pong balls

 It was all quite surprising!

And the drinks flowed freely

It was great fun, but that's all for now.

OXO

D.